Author Topic: newbie question: how long should i stay on this kind of workout?  (Read 3728 times)

Tom

  • Getbig IV
  • ****
  • Posts: 1077
  • Getbig!
hi everyone! started working out this past march so now i'm only going on 5 months or so. 44 years old and my weight is around 220-225 and started out with a bodyfat measured at 23 percent, (yikes!), now 5 months or so later i'm still roughly the same weight but the bodyfat % has decreased a bit.

been working out doing the monday, wednesday, friday full body workout for these past 5 months, granted different exercises for each body part, so not exactly the same workout for the past 5 months anyway, of course the goal is to gain muscle mass and lose bodyfat,

diet is pretty clean, i take a bunch of supps as well as some new pro-hormones stuff, anyway the question is...

i'm ready for the next step in a workout routine in about 3 weeks, the plan is to go to a 4 day a week workout, the typical:

monday, thursday: chest, shoulders, triceps

tuesday, friday: back, biceps, legs,

cardio on wednesday, saturday and perhaps a really short bit of cardio on the days i lift ( not leg day of course!)

just wondering how long should i stay on this type of 4 day a week workout before i move on to something even more advanced?

i was thinking of just doing 2 or 3 exercises per bodypart, and then keep on switching exercises for each body part, perhaps add 1 exercise after a few weeks to the big bodyparts, changing the order and changing the actual bodyparts and matching them differently on different days and so on.... thought i would do this for at least 6 months and probably up to 1 year?

does this sound right, what to get fricking stacked, but also at my age don't want to risk injury, burnout and rush into things too fast, however,i'm no spring chicken either so i can't take it too easy either! help me out please! thanks in advance for the replies!

d0nny2600

  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 4429
  • http://i.imgur.com/mCzI3N5.jpg
Re: newbie question: how long should i stay on this kind of workout?
« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2009, 04:36:13 PM »
Stay doing what you are doing until you stop making progress. Then its time to change things up - not necessarily your training. Diet etc can all be manipulated.

webcake

  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 16148
  • Not now chief...
Re: newbie question: how long should i stay on this kind of workout?
« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2009, 04:45:23 PM »
Stay doing what you are doing until you stop making progress. Then its time to change things up - not necessarily your training. Diet etc can all be manipulated.
Agreed.


If your poundages are improving, keep at it. Once you feel like you have hit a bit of a plateau, take a week off and come back to another routine. Don't change your routine just for the sake of it, your body will tell you when a change is needed.

And also, you don't have to make huge changes, maybe just change the rep range you use, so go from 10-12, down to 6-8, alter your rest periods, add/drop some sets. Major changes aren't always necessary.

Keep it up!
No doubt about it...